| CUSTOMER REVIEWS: | 4/5 - A dozen Christmas rock offerings from some early rockers
"Jingle Bell Rock: An Oldies Rock and Roll Christmas" brings together a dozen holiday tracks by some of the early legends of rock 'n' roll, from Fats Domino and Bill Haley to Ricky Nelson and the Beach Boys. How many of these songs you recognize will be a way of giving away your age. The track that pops up the most on holiday collections nowadays would be the first one, "Little Saint Nick" by the Beach Boys. In their day Bill Haley's "Jingle Bell Rock," Ricky Nelson's "Jingle Bells," "Sleigh Ride" by the Ventures, and Jan & Dean's "Frosty (The Snowman)" had their moments, but it is hard not to think of Elvis Presley when hearing Bobby Vee do "Blue Christmas." On balance the tunes of interest are the ones that you have never heard before, such as Fats Domino's "I Told Santa Claus" and another Beach Boys track, "Merry Christmas, Baby."
The only common denominator to these twelve tracks is that the performers bring the sense of joy from the early and relatively innocent years of rock 'n' roll history to these holidays songs. The results may be of more nostalgic value than anything else, but there will be those for whom these songs will be a pleasant blast from the past.
4/5 - Great Holiday Quickie
I think the album cover caught me-the cherry red '57 Chevy with the frosted Christmas tree conveys an image of another time and another place. And that is part of the Christmas Spirit. We need to get pulled out of our humdrum complacency, and to remind ourselves of our ideals, and to have fun in the process.
This is a fun CD. It is a mulligan stew of the classic 1950's-1960's rock classics that celebrate Christmas. The beginning and ending bookend tracks come from the classic "Beach Boy's Christmas Album." If you like these two tracks, I recommend the full Beach Boys album. Their version of "We Three Kings" is absolutely perfect, and their rendition of the Lord's Prayer taps into something holy.
The rest of the album is full of similar tracks. The second track is the kingpin of all Christmas rock anthems, "Jingle Bell Rock." Jan and Deans "Frosty the Snowman" serves as a pseudo-reprise of the Beach Boys So-Cal harmonies.
There are two surprise gems. "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" took my breath away. I have heard the U2 cover, but I think Dion shines in his version. The second surprise was Ricky Nelson's cover of "Jingle Bells." You don't think that anyone could do something interesting with this old standard, but he brings life and breath into this rockabilly cover.
The Fats Domino track has some transfer problems, but I imagine that it comes from the condition of the original source recoding. It has to be about 45 years old, so it is probably as best as could be expected.
"Blue Christmas" and "Please Come home for Christmas" help round out the collection. However, I must make special note of the Ventures' "Sleigh Ride." It is done in their idiom, and begins and ends with riffs that remind me of "Walk, Don't Run." But it works! It is energetic and in a weird sense, a funny juxtaposition of rock and fun.
And that is what the holiday is all about. |
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Friday, December 11, 2009
Last visit: 10/12/2009
